Dispensing bottle cap



March 13, 1956 M. R. DAVIS DISPENSING BOTTLE CAP 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledMarch 13, 1952 Q. T m w.

March 13, 1956 M. R. DAVIS DISPENSING BOTTLE CAP 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledMarch 13, 1952 .96 INVENTOR.

United States Patent-O DISPENSING BOTTLE CAP MargaretR. Davis,Arlington, Va.

Application March 13, 1952, SerialNo. 276,296

2 Claims. (Cl. 215-61) My'invention relates to a container, having aninner openable'runway or spout formed in its coveror'wall portion.

I am aware of the fact that the "prior artwtliscloses a number ofcontainer tops such as milk bottle caps and salt box covers, which areprovided with a spout means.

Some of these are relatively expensive, others cost but little. Many ofthe higher priced articles are effec'tivein operation, but they haveobtained only limited acceptance because of the comparatively high costof production: but, insofar as I am informed, the cheaper tops .ofatheprior art do not appear to be sufliciently-convenient to use, oreffective enough in operation to warrant'general acceptance, either bythe purchasing public or by-the trade.

"In view of this situation, I propose, and" it is oneof my purposes toprovide, a unique container'top -of "the characterdescribed, which isboth inexpensive to produce and convenient and effective in operation;

A further purpose is the provision'of a contaiinerhavingJan openablerunway or spout of the character de scribed which is part of the mainbody portion ofthe receptacle.

.tainertopof the character described which is=moresimple in constructionand more convenient and effective in operation than any comparablecontainer top which has heretofore been made, at a low cost.

Another purpose is to provide a container closure or encasing meanshaving a sealed but openable runway through which, when the runway isopened, liquids,

powders and granular materials may bereadilydischarged from thecontainer in a well-directed stream, without the inconvenience of firstremoving the cap, lid, cover ..or wall portion of the container.

The "other and further purposes "of my invention "will become apparent'as'my application proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. lis aperspective'view illustrating a bottle cap embodying myinvention, which is beingused toseal a bottle; Only the'upper 'portion-of the'bottle is'shown-in this view, "Fig. 2 is :a sectional vi'ewofthe same, showing the bottle of Fig. "1 tilted and 'its contents beingdischarged through an opened runway or spout in'the cap, which "is, "ofcourse, shown'elosed in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is.a sectional view'tak'en along the line '33 "of Fig. 5,

Figs; 4 .and 5 are seetion'staken "respectively along the *iines4--4-and5--5 in-Fi'g. "1',

Figxo -is a top-plan view of the-capshowing its runway open and in aposition adapted-to serve I as a spout,

Figt'fl is a perspective View ofa container embodying another form of myinvention. Inthis view the runway is-sirown on a sealed, cut out'tongue,'andthis tongue may be an integral portion of any 'sidewall ofthe-container,

Fig; is'a section takenalong the line '8-8 of Fig. 7,

Fig. 9 is a topplan'yiew'of a pasteboard box provided with a coverhaving its tongue portion sealed with a sticker, v

' Fig. lO'is a section taken along theline 1010 Fig.9,

Fig. 11 is a sectional view showinga box coverwhich makes use ofnonintegral ribs ordianges to provide the banks 'ofits runway, and

Fig. 1'2 isaperspective view fragmentarily showing a container whichutilizes spaced-apartand preferably par- Another and more specificpurpose is the provision of acontainer top having an openable tongueportion tcarrying a runway which is inverted when the tongue is closedand is adapted to serve as a container spout when the tongue portion isopened.

A further and still more specific purpose is to provide a container topfurnished with a runway of the characterallel' ribs or flanges to formthe banksof its runway;

Broadly, my invention contemplates the provision in 'the casing or coverportion of 'a container of a normally 'c'losed'tongue or "tabportiom-havin'gon' its lower or'inner sidea runway adapted, when 'thistongue portion is opened, toserve as a-spout 'through which-liquids "or'suitable granularmaterialsma'y be 'poured'fromthe container in -awell-directed. stream.

Referringnow'toFigures"l'tob inclusive, I have shown, for. purposesofillustration only, amilk'bottle cap 20, but it willbeof courseundersto'od*that'the unique spout or runway of my invention may bereadily incorporated in any suitabletpart of a con'tainer.

In fabricating the cap ,20, Imake use of a sheet of cardboard or-stifi'paper "(nottfshown'fi and stamp or cut 'out' oftliis'sheet acirculandi'scil, adaptedtoseal a'milk bottle ,having a capseat"of'predetermined diameter. fThis-milkbottle cap' rn'ay; of-course,be formed inany manner well known to the art, but it is-preferabl'ypro-'vided-by stamping and embossing" the disc'2l in a suitable dieapparatus(not shown havin-g suitable maleand female dies, :especialiyengravedand' cut out for the purpose.

The cap 20 is "provided with a strip, tab or tongue portion '22(hereinafter referredto as the tongue") which may "be partlyjsseparatedfrom the adjacent. portions of the disc by an indented line '24; whichdefines and 'weakens'the front'edge'26, and the side edges28, 30 of thetongue to such an extent that the tongue may be hingedly opened (seeFigs. 2 and 6).

On the lower side of the tongue, as viewed in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, thereare provided spaced-apart longitudinally extending depressed portions,or ribs 32, 34, which extend forwardly from the opposite sides 36, 38 ofthe tongues base or root portion 40 almost to its front edge 26. Theseribs, as may be readily understood by referring to Figs. 1 to 6, bothstiffen the tongue and serve as the banks of a runway 42. This runway,as may be seen in Fig. 2, makes the tongue an efiective spout throughwhich the milk may be poured through the cap in a stream 43 when thetongue is opened, and the bottle 44 is tilted. By referring to thisfigure it may be seen that a stream of milk may be conveniently andeffectively discharged at such a distance from the top or neck 45, ofthe bottle that it prevents the milk from dribbling down the side of thebottle.

In Figs. 7 and 8, I have shown, also for purposes of illustration only,a six-sided cardboard sheet container,

or box 46 which embodied another form of my invention. One side 50 ofthis box is provided with a tongue 54. (The opposite sides of the box,not shown, may consist of open leaves or flaps, also not shown, to besealed after the box is filled.)

This tongue 54 also has two spaced-apart ribs or flanges 56, 58 whichform a runway or spout 60 and may be substantially identical to thetongue 22, except that its front edge 62 and its side edges 64, 66 arefirst wholly cut out from the side 50 instead of being formed by anindented line only semi-separated. These edge portions are then securedto the side 50 in a preferred watertight manner, by any suitable bindingagent 68 (for instance, a wax, parafiin or casein adhesive) which willseal the tongue in its closed position, but yet permit I the tongue tobe conveniently opened.

In Figs. 9 and 10, I have illustrated a cylindrical container 70 havinga top 72, the upper part 74 of which is provided with a tongue 76. Thistongue may be identical to the tongue 54, shown in Figs. 7 and 8, and byreferring to Fig. 9, it will be seen that the tongue is cut away fromthe adjacent portions in the same manner, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

But in this modification, I prefer to hold the tongue in its closedposition with a sticker 78 having a marportions 88, 90 which are adaptedto provide a runway 92 between these rib portions. This runway isadapted to serve as a spout when the tongue is opened in the same manneras the tongue 22, shown in Fig. 2. The tongue 86 is preferablysecured inits closed position by suitable adhesively coated strips 93 in a mannerwhich may be readily understood by referring to Fig. 11.

In Fig. 12, I have shown a hexagonal box 94 of preferably multi-plycardboard construction, which embodies a further modification of myinvention.

On one side 95 of this box a tongue 96 preferably rectangular in form iscut out of an outer section of any side 97 of the box in such a way thatit leaves a recessed portion 98. Immediately inside this recessedportion, I provide a port, or door opening 9 9'which is made slightlysmaller in dimension than the tongue, in order that abutments or doorjambs 100 may be formed which will prevent the tongue from being pressedthrough the opening 97 when the tongue is being closed. These jambs alsopermit the tongue to be sealed to the side of the box in such a manneras to provide a more rugged construction.

To the inner surface of this tongue, I secure two stiff spaced-apartribs 101, 102 which may be made of any suitable material, such as wood.Alternatively, these may be metal bars or strips (not shown) providedwith end portions which pass through the tongue and may be clamped toits outer surface. These ribs serve as stifiening members for thetongue, and to form a runway or spout through which liquid or granularmaterial (not shown) may be poured from the container.

In the side 97 adjacent to the upper edge of the recessed portion formedby the tongue, I also preferably provide a notch 103 which enables thetongue to be more conveniently opened.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a unique runwayor spout means which may be formed in cardboard sheet segments, and alsoin the tops or sides of containers.

It will, of course, be understood, that other modifications than thoseshown herein for the purpose of illustration, for instance, articlesformed from metal or plastic sheets, may be made which will fall withinthe scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A seal for a container having an outlet through which pourablematerial may be discharged in the form of a stream, said seal consistingof a stamped-out disc adapted for manual insertion and re-insertion insaid outlet and having a U-shaped line of weakness defining a tongueintegrally connected to said disc and which, when the tongue is liftedto its pouring position, forms a hinge between the end portions of saidline and also leaves an apertured portion within said disc, said tonguehaving on its underside a pair of spaced-apart ribs which extendsubstantially from said end portions to said free portion in a mannerwhereby said pair of ribs and said tongue coact in providing a guide forsaid material on the underside of said tongue.

2. A seal for a container having an outlet through which pourablematerial may be discharged in the form of a stream, said seal consistingof a stamped-out disc adapted for manual insertion and re-insertion insaid outlet and having a U-shaped line of weakness defining a tonguewhich is integrally connected to said disc and forms, when the tongue islifted to its pouring positions, a hinge line between the end portionsof said U-shaped line, and leaves an apertured portion within said disc,said tongue having on its underside a pair of spaced-apart ribs inconverging relationship to each other, extending substantially from saidend portions to said free portion in a manner whereby said pair of ribsand said tongue coact .to provide a guide for materials on the undersideof said tongue.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,242,604 Schmitt Oct. 9, 1917 1,881,403 Guyer Oct. 4, 1932 1,890,691Mergentheim Dec. 13, 1932 2,574,720 Trout et al. Nov. 13, 1951 I FOREIGNPATENTS 511,851 Great Britain Aug. 25, 1939

